Life Changing Experience
by Karen-Charlene
Summary: Fate has a strange way of bringing two strangers together. Two lines of jobs; two people; one connection. VCR AU
1. A Night to Remember

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI nor the characters.**

**Rating: M.**

**A/N: Here's a new story from me. Hope you like it (:**

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><p><strong>A Night to Remember<strong>

Her hips were swaying in time with the music, her long, tanned legs were wrapped around the pole and she was flicking her long, blonde hair in the sexiest way possible. Everyone was sitting around the stage and staring at her perfect body, completely mesmerized. And she loved it. Catherine Flynn loved the attention she was getting.

Only one man in the crowd was not interested in seeing her and her girlfriends dancing almost naked in front of horny guys for a living.

"Hey, babe, come here!" the man's friend called, holding out a few bills. She danced her way over to the two men.

The guy handed her the money while saying, "My friend here is a little bored." He motioned to the man sitting next to him, not particularly enjoying the show. "Why don't you take him ton the VIP room and wake him up a little?" he added with a wink, ignoring his friend's protests. "Give him a special treat."

Catherine smiled and winked as she got off the stage, took hold of the man's hand and led him to the VIP room.

Once the door was shut, Catherine pushed the man onto the couch, climbed onto his lap and started giving him a lap dance. The man, however, was feeling a little uncomfortable.

"So, what's your name?" He tried to start a conversation, hoping that would get her to stop the dance.

"What would you like want it to be?" she whispered huskily against his ear as she grinded her breasts against his face, but he moved his face away.

"I don't know, how did your mother call you when you were born?"

She grinned. "Catherine."

"Catherine. Catherine what?"

"Catherine Flynn," she said seductively.

"Nice to meet you, Catherine Flynn, I'm Louis Vartann."

Catherine didn't seem too interested in the conversation and continued to grind against him. Lou, however, didn't give up.

"So, Catherine, you got any hobbies? Other than dancing?"

Catherine has had enough. Even though she was getting money, she wasn't in the mood for talking. She had had a big fight with her boyfriend earlier that night before she came to work and it had ruined her mood. She wasn't feeling like starting a conversation with this guy.

"What's the matter, you don't want this dance?" She asked a little too harshly than she meant, pulling back to look at his face.

"Actually, not really." He grabbed her hips gently and sat her on the couch next to him, making her frown. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "I just really don't like these places; I don't like watching girls selling their bodies."

"Then why are you here?"

"My friend dragged me here. We're spending the weekend in Vegas before he gets married." He smiled.

"Oh, where are you from?"

"L.A."

"Well, your friend paid me for thirty minutes with you, so how 'bout we make the best of it?" She straddled him once again with a seductive smile on her lips, but, once again, he grabbed her hips and placed her back on the couch.

"I'm sorry. It's not that you're not attractive or something, because you are, very attractive," he said, ogling her body, then looking into her eyes. "It's just… do you really like this job?"

"I like dancing, and it's good money." She shrugged.

"Yeah, but don't you want to do something else? I mean, do you really enjoy seeing men getting off on your dancing?"

"It's the job." She shrugged again. "Besides, it helps me pay for my studies."

"Really?" Lou's eyes widened slightly. He never imagined an exotic dancer, who two seconds ago was giving him a lap dance, would also be a student. "What do you study?"

"Forensic Science," she replied.

"You want to be a criminologist?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile, happy to finally have someone to talk to about her real passion – except for Jimmy. "I love science and I love criminology. And I'm pretty good, too. I have a friend who's a detective and he sort of trains me."

Lou couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as she rambled excitedly.

"You know, I'm a detective," Lou said when she finally stopped talking. "I work for LAPD."

Her mouth dropped open. "Seriously? That's so cool!"

Lou chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Why don't you do anything about your skills? If that's what you really love, why are you still here?"

"Oh, no, that's just for fun. I don't think I could really do it. I mean, I'm an exotic dancer – that's what I do, that's my life – I couldn't be a criminology. Besides, who would take an exotic dancer for this job?"

"Hey." Lou gently placed his hand on her cheek, getting her to look him in the eye. "You can do whatever you want and nothing and no one can stop you. You just have to believe in yourself. I believe in you."

Catherine couldn't stop the tears that formed in her eyes. His words warmed her heart.

"Why?" she whispered, "You don't even know me."

"But I see a girl, who's more than just a dancer. I see a girl with passion and dreams and a future. You don't have to do this." He motioned to the little outfit she was wearing and was barely covering her body. "No one's making you do anything. You can do whatever you want; you can be whoever you want."

They sat there close to each other with Lou's hand still on Catherine's cheek. They stared at each other as Lou's words were still echoing in both their heads. It seemed like they had been sitting there for ages before their lips suddenly connected in a tender kiss.

The kiss seemed to last forever. Neither of them wanted to pull apart; they didn't want it to stop. They both felt something, but couldn't exactly tell what it was. But it was definitely a good thing.

Lou slowly lowered Catherine on the couch with his body hovering over hers. The kiss turned more passionate and heated, and slowly their hands started roaming each other's bodies.

Before long their clothes were on the floor and they were breathing heavily and looking deeply into each other's eyes as Lou slowly slipped inside of Catherine, eliciting soft moans from both of them.

They made love slowly and passionately that night, never taking their eyes and hands off of each other, until they both reached their release.

They both felt something they hadn't felt in a very long time. Neither of them regretted doing what they had done, even though Catherine had a boyfriend waiting for her at home and Lou had a wife and a kid back in L.A.

When they were done they said their goodbyes before Catherine went back to dancing and Lou and his friend went back to their hotel room for their last night in Vegas.

Neither of them knew exactly what happened that night, but neither of them was sorry; they both wanted it. They moved on with their lives, never talking about that night, but never forgetting it.

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><p><strong>IT'S NOT THE END! I'm gonna publish the second chapter soon (:<strong>

**Thanks for reading, tell me what you think.**

**-Zohar.**


	2. Meeting Again

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Here's chapter 2 - I decided to publish it instead of studying for History 'cause, well, History sucks.  
>Enjoy! <strong>

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><p><strong>Meeting Again<strong>

_**8 years later**_

"Hey, Cath, how are you and Lindsey doing?" Nick asked as he and Catherine exited an interrogation room.

Catherine sighed and attempted to smile. "We'll be okay."

It had been a month since Eddie died. Catherine was still a little shaken up after that night when she had to save her daughter from the drowning car, and Lindsey would still climb into Catherine's bed after having a bad dream, usually including her father. Catherine hated seeing her daughter so upset and broken. Her father was like Superman to her, and now he was gone.

Catherine and Nick were heading out of P.D. when Catherine suddenly froze on her spot. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You okay, Cath?" Nick turned to face her. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost. Her eyes were fixated on something and Nick turned his head to see what that thing was and saw Jim Brass talking to someone.

"Who's Brass talking to?" Catherine asked without taking her eyes off of the two men discussing.

"Oh, he's a new detective here, at P.D.," Nick replied, "Uh… Vartann, I think."

Catherine felt her heart skip a beat as she heard this name. So many thoughts were running through her mind, threatening to explode her head. Without further words, she started heading toward the two men, feeling her heart pound harder with every step she made.

"Jim," she said as she reached the captain and the new detective.

Brass turned to look at her and smiled. "Catherine, I want you to meet Detective Vartann." Brass gestured to the man standing in front of him. Catherine's heart stopped as she heard his name again. She turned her head to look at the man and realized he had the same shocked expression she was having on her face.

"This is Catherine Willows, one of our best CSI's," Brass continued with a smile, completely oblivious to the shock written on his colleagues' faces.

_'Wait, Willows? Last time I saw her she was Flynn. Is she married now?'_

Lou was the first one to shake himself out of the shock and he extended his hand to Catherine with a smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you."

Catherine shook his hand slightly and nodded, the shocked expression never leaving her face. "Like wise."

"So, you're a CSI," Lou said with a smile and a gleam in his eyes, receiving another nod from the blonde standing in front of him.

"As much as we'd like to stay and chat, I need to show Detective Vartann around P.D.," Brass said.

"Yeah, sure," Catherine mumbled as she turned to leave.

"I'll see you around I guess," Lou called after her, but she didn't turn back to face him; she just kept walking, as fast as she could.

At the end of her shift Catherine was sitting at Frank's, the local diner, and sipping coffee when Lou walked in. He looked around, studying the new place. That's when he spotted her sitting alone with her eyes fixated on her cup of coffee. Her head was flooded with thoughts she wasn't sure she could handle. He smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey, didn't think I'd see you here."

Catherine's head snapped up as she heard the familiar voice and felt her heart racing again. She opened her mouth, but no voice would come out.

"It was nice seeing you again," Lou said as he sat down across from her.

Catherine was still trying to find her voice when the sound of her ringing phone startled her. She took hold of her phone and looked at the caller's I.D. before looking up at him.

"I'm… I'm sorry, I gotta take this call," she mumbled.

"It's okay, no problem." He smiled warmly at her.

She kept staring at him for a few more seconds, as if he wasn't real and she was only imagining he was there. When she realized her phone never ceased to ring she tore her eyes off of him and answered the phone. "Willows… what? I'm on my way." She sighed as she hung up the phone.

"Everything okay?" Lou asked concerned.

"I gotta go." She got up without waiting for his reply and left the diner in a hurry.

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><p>"Hi, I'm Catherine Willows, I'm here to pick up Lindsey Willows," Catherine said as she walked into the school's secretariat.<p>

The secretary behind the desk looked up at her and pointed to the little girl sitting on one of the chairs in the corner of the room. Catherine turned her head to look at her and her heart broke as she saw the sight in front of her: her daughter was sitting in silence with her head down, swinging her little legs. Catherine wanted nothing but hug her, but instead she walked over, held out her hand and stated, "Let's go."

The little girl looked up at her mother with big, sad eyes - sorrow and regret reflecting from them - before placing her small hand in hers and getting up, letting her mother lead her out of the room.

Once they were sat in Catherine's car, Catherine turned her head to look at her daughter, waiting for her to start talking. When Lindsey didn't open her mouth and just looked down at her hands Catherine decided to speak up first.

"You wanna explain to me what happened?" She tried speaking in a soft voice, but she was just too upset to be nice after hearing what her daughter had done.

Lindsey only shook her head slightly, tears already filling her eyes.

"Well, you're gonna have to. I'm sorry, but there's gotta be a reasonable explanation as to why you would throw a rock at a girl's head. What were you thinking, Lindsey? Do you know what could've happened to her? What if there was an irreversible damage? She could've died, Lindsey, do you get that? What would you have done then?"

Lindsey just kept sitting in silence, listening to her mother lecturing her. She didn't dare look at her. She knew her mother was really mad at her, but she wasn't afraid of her; what really bugged and upset her was the fact that she had disappointed her mother.

When Catherine saw how upset her daughter was she sighed and decided to stop preaching her.

"Linds, talk to me," she said in a calmer voice, almost pleading. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, can we just go home?" Lindsey squeaked out, and Catherine could hear she was crying silently, which only made her heart ache more for her little daughter.

She reached for her daughter's blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear to take a better look at her face. "What happened?" she asked softly, "Did she do something to upset you?"

Lindsey only nodded in response.

"What did she do?"

Lindsey sniffed. "She said that Daddy was a bad man and he did bad things and he deserved to die," she whispered as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

Catherine couldn't see her daughter so upset. Sadness washed over her face as she saw her crying quietly and she gently wiped one of her tears away with her thumb.

"Linds, look at me," she said softly, and the little girl turned her head to look at her.

"Your father was not a bad man. Whatever he has done has nothing to do with you and how much he loved you. Don't listen to this girl; she was just trying to tease you. But violence is not a way to solve problems. Something really bad could've happened to this girl and then people would have blamed you, not her. You know better than everyone else who your dad was, don't let them get to you, remember him the way he was, not the way everyone says he was."

Lindsey sniffed and nodded. "I'm sorry, Mommy," she whispered, her big, blue eyes staring into her mother's.

"Come here, baby." Catherine pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair as she cried in her arms.

She really wanted to be there for her daughter, and that's exactly what she was going to do, but she just couldn't stop thinking about the person from her past, who suddenly came back into her life. She couldn't believe she would have to stand seeing him every single day from now on.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading. It shouldn't take me too long to update.<strong>

**Please leave a review, they make me happy (:**

**-Zohar.**


	3. A Cup of Coffee

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Forgot to say that I know I lacked on SMUT in the first chapter and some of you were kinda mad at me lol but I just thought it would be too much for first chapter. However, I'm gonna make it up to you in future chapters, promise ;)**

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><p><strong>A Cup of Coffee<strong>

The following night Lou spotted Catherine walking around P.D. and walked over to her.

"Hey." He caught up with her. "You okay? You left in a hurry yesterday; we didn't get a chance to talk."

Catherine glanced at him briefly before replying, "Yeah, sorry about that, I had somewhere I needed to be."

"It's okay. We, uh… we should probably talk." He stopped walking and turned to face her, making her do the same.

_'Please just leave me alone to live my life.'_

"Okay." She nodded, even though she dreaded the idea. The last thing she wanted was to spend time with him.

"How 'bout over a cup of coffee after shift?" Lou suggested.

"Uh… actually, I really need to be home after shift."

"That's okay; I can come over to your place." When he saw the look that appeared on her face – a look that told him she didn't quite like the idea – he added, "If that's okay, of course."

Catherine attempted to smile – but feared that her smile came out scary rather than convincing – and nodded. "Sure."

After shift she gave him her address and they drove in separate cars to her place. When Lou got there he noticed her car was already there, which meant she was already home. He climbed out of his car, walked to the front door and knocked on it. A smile was already pasted to his face when the door flew open and he was welcome by a little girl. His smile was quickly replaced with confusion.

"Uh, hi. Is Catherine around?" he asked, starting to wonder if he was at the right house. He looked back at the driveway to check the car parking there was actually Catherine's, but was startled when he heard the little girl call at the top of her voice, "MOM!"

He turned back to face her and met her suspicious gaze. "Who are you?" she asked, her hands planted on her hips.

"I'm Lou." He smiled softly. "I work with your mom."

_'I didn't know she had a kid. Last time I saw her she was dancing around a pole, now she's a CSI and has a husband and a kid.'_

Just then Catherine came down the stairs, interrupting his thoughts when she said, "Lindsey, go get ready for school." Before Lou knew what was happening, the energetic girl was already flying up the stairs.

"Come in." Catherine motioned him to follow her as she started walking toward the kitchen. Once she was with her back to him the smile on her face disappeared.

_'Why did she open the door? He wasn't supposed to see her; he wasn't supposed to know I have a daughter.'_

Lou stepped into the house and shut the door behind him before following her into the kitchen.

"Is that your daughter?" he asked.

"Yeah." Catherine smiled softly as she reached up for the cupboard and took out two cups. "Lindsey."

"She's adorable." Lou smiled. He stood a few feet behind her and watched as she poured coffee into the cups.

"We only have an hour before I need to take her to school," she called over her shoulder and received a nod from him.

"So, is her dad here?"

Catherine dropped the cup she was holding onto the counter as soon as the words left his lips. She quickly picked it up and proceeded to pour the coffee as if nothing had happened.

"Why do you ask?" she asked without looking at him.

"Well, I've noticed your surname is different. You're married?"

It took Catherine a little while before she answered, "Divorced."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just my job." He smiled as Catherine walked over to him and handed him his coffee.

"It's okay. He, uh… he's dead," she said as she started walking to the living room.

Lou's eyes filled with sorrow and he followed her. "I'm really sorry."

"I'm fine, I guess," she said as she sat down on the sofa and he sat down next to her. "It's Lindsey I'm worried about. She was very close to him and she's really broken now. She even got into a fight at school yesterday."

_'Wait, why am I telling him all this?'_

For some reason, she felt like she could open up to him and tell him everything – well, almost everything – and she didn't know what this reason was, but it scared her a little.

Lou saw the sadness in her eyes and couldn't help but feel bad for her and her daughter. "She just needs time." He smiled softly, hoping to make her feel better. "She'll be okay. She has to be; I mean, look at her mom."

Catherine blushed at his comment and chuckled slightly.

"So, what are you doing in Vegas?" She changed the subject with a more cheerful voice.

"Well, my wife and I got divorced a few months ago and it was pretty nasty. I just wanted to get away, so I requested to be transferred and they moved me here."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Catherine said in a soft voice. "Do you have any children?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that.

"Yeah, we have an 11-year-old son, Jake." He smiled. "But she got full custody on him." Lou's eyes filled with sadness, but he quickly snapped out of it and looked back at her with a smile. "Anyway, what about you? Last time I saw you you were…"

Catherine nodded. "I remember."

"And your dream's come true." He smiled. "You're a CSI now. What's happened?"

"Well, a while after our talk I quit my job and finished my studies, and then Lindsey was born, so a friend of mine, Jimmy, got me the job."

"I'm really happy for you."

"Thank you." She smiled and sipped her coffee. They sat in silence, drinking their coffee, when Lou finally spoke up.

"Look, Catherine, I don't want it to be awkward between us now that we work together."

"I totally agree." Catherine nodded. "I think we should just forget that night ever happened."

Lou's face dropped as the words left her mouth. He wasn't sure he wanted to forget it; it was the best night of his life. "What if I don't want to forget it?"

"Excuse me?" Catherine shot him a look that made him a little bit intimidated.

"I mean, we met eight years ago and had an amazing night together, and we had this really strong connection, you can't deny it. And now, after all these years, we meet again. It must be a sign."

"It's not a sign, it's nothing. You want to tell me you actually believe in that stuff?"

"Not really, but I know I'd like to give us a try."

"Who says I want to give us a try?" she snapped.

"You wanna tell me you didn't feel anything? You wanna tell me you don't feel anything right now?" Lou asked and then added with a softer voice, "You wanna tell me you don't feel anything when I do this? He softly pressed his lips to hers. It felt as if sparkles started flying around them as soon as their lips connected.

Catherine's eyes fluttered closed as she enjoyed the magical sensation of his lips against hers. It was the first touch they had shared in years. She didn't want the kiss to stop – she wanted to stay this way forever – yet, she quickly broke the moment by pulling away from his lips.

"Wait, no." It took her a few seconds to calm her nerves. He heart was racing; this kiss took her right back to the night they had shared eight years ago. Then she continued, "I can't do this, I'm sorry."

"What's stopping you?"

"I'm just not ready for a relationship right now," she tried, hoping it would be enough to convince him. "My daughter had just lost her father; I don't want her to feel like I'm replacing him."

Lou smiled softly and gently placed his hand on her leg. "Cath, I'm not going to replace Lindsey's father, I could never replace him."

Catherine stared into his green-gray eyes, her heart pounding even harder at the feel of his warm hand on her leg. She wanted nothing more than to be with him, to kiss him, touch him, make love to him. But she knew she couldn't; it would just hurt Lindsey and him. And it broke her heart to know she couldn't be with him, to look into his eyes and know they couldn't resume what they had started eight years ago.

When Lou saw the way she looked at him he knew she didn't want to be with him and there was no way to convince her; he wasn't going to make her.

_'Just forget about it, man, she's not into you.'_

He took his hand away, put his cup on the coffee table and stood up. "I better go."

Catherine looked up at him, trying to hide the sadness and sorrow in her eyes, but failing. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Yeah, me too," he said just as quietly before leaving the room. Catherine heard the front door open and close, and then plopped back on the sofa, letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

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><p><strong>I might upload chapter 4 tomorrow if I get some nice reviews ;)<strong>

**-Zohar.**


	4. Giving It a Chance

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: You left me a lot of nice reviews and I promised a new chapter today. So, here you go. Hopefully, this one will make you happier (:**

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><p><strong>Giving It a Chance<strong>

After their talk Catherine planned to avoid Lou at work. However, her plan changed a few days later when she was put on the same case with him, which meant having to see him almost all the time.

Lou wasn't particularly comfortable with the situation either. He felt rejected and embarrassed for telling Catherine how he was feeling. But, work came first and they wouldn't let their personal lives affect their capability of doing their jobs properly. So, they just acted as if nothing had ever happened between them, although they couldn't stop thinking about it.

After finding a possible suspect in their case Lou drove them to the suspect's house to talk to him. The ride was long and uncomfortably silent. They were both thinking about the same thing, but neither one of them had the courage to start a conversation.

That, until Catherine finally said, "I'm sorry." Lou glanced at her and saw her with her head down, staring at her hands as if they were the most interesting thing in the world at that moment.

"Forget about it, I understand." Lou turned his head back to look at the road.

There was another awkward silence for what seemed to last hours before Catherine drew in a deep breath and then said, "I did feel something… that night."

When Lou glanced at her once again – this time surprise written on his face – her head was no longer down; she was staring right into his eyes. Once their eyes met, however, she looked back down. She was too embarrassed – maybe even a little bit scared – to look at him while saying what she wanted to say.

"You were the only one who didn't make me feel like just a dancer, who made me feel like I was more than that, like I was actually worth something." Her eyes got misty as she started talking about it. She had never talked about that night and how she felt, but she always thought about it.

"You _were_ worth something, you still are. And I never thought of you as just a dancer." Lou's voice was soft.

"That night… it didn't feel like just sex. It didn't make me feel like a whore, it made me feel good, loved," she mumbled.

"I know." He smiled softly. "I felt the same. It was all I could think of for the next few weeks."

Catherine finally plucked up the courage to look at him and he was amazed at how beautiful her blue, sparkly eyes looked in the moonlight. He felt like he could stare at them forever. In his opinion, her eyes were the most gorgeous thing on her body.

"I just… I know someone will get hurt eventually," she said quietly, "If not Lindsey, then you or me. I always mess these things up."

"Cath," he said softly, "I'm not going to let you mess this up, and you know why?" She shook her head. "Because I'm in this, too. I want it; I want you. I really like you." He placed his hand on her leg, but quickly took it away and put it on his seat next to his leg, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable again.

After a couple of minutes of silence, in which each of them was in their own world, flooded with their own thoughts, Catherine finally said, "Lindsey can't know about this." Lou tore his eyes off the road and looked at her confused. "Not until we know what's going on between us anyway," she added. "I don't want taking the risk of hurting her for nothing."

"What are you saying?"

She took a deep breath before saying, "I'm saying that I want to give it a try; I want to give us a try." She smiled softly. "I want to be with you."

A huge smile spread across Lou's face. They kept staring at each other, grinning from ear to ear, when Lou suddenly realized he was still driving. It was either staring into the beautiful blue eyes of the goddess beside him or keeping them alive. Choosing the second option, he reluctantly looked back at the road with a grin on his face. Catherine's hand slyly reached for his own on his seat and took it in hers. They smiled at each other again and spent the rest of the ride holding hands with big smiles pasted to their faces.

The rest of their shift passed by quickly. Neither one of them could stop smiling and they were looking forward to meeting up at the end of the shift.

Catherine knew she was making a mistake, but she didn't care. For once in her life she let her heart decide for her instead of her head.

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><p>For the next two weeks Catherine and Lou were pretty much inseparable. When they weren't working they would spend every possible opportunity together, sometimes even at Catherine's when Lindsey wasn't home. She didn't want her daughter to meet Lou and she didn't want her to know there was something going on between them until she was sure it was serious enough. Their relationship had yet to become physical and neither wanted to rush anything.<p>

One Saturday Catherine and Lou were curled up together on Catherine's sofa, talking when the front door suddenly opened and an 8-year-old girl ran into the living room, making the couple jump apart before the girl could see them.

"Mommy, Mommy, look what Nana bought me!" Lindsey held out her hand for her mother to see the new plastic ring on her finger just as her grandma walked into the living room.

"Wow!" Catherine gasped, sounding just as excited as her daughter, as she knelt in front of her and observed the ring.

"Nana said it's a real diamond," Lindsey said proudly. Catherine glanced up at her mother and they smiled at each other.

"I'm sure she spent a fortune on it." She smiled at Lindsey, making her daughter's smile grow bigger.

Just then Lily noticed Lou, who was standing awkwardly by the sofa by now. "Hello," she said.

"Oh, Mom, this is Detective Vartann." Catherine suddenly remembered her boyfriend and stood up. "We work together."

"Lou." Lou smiled as he extended his hand to Lily. As soon as Lily heard his name her eyes widened.

"Catherine, can I have a word with you in the kitchen?" she asked without taking her eyes off of him, but ignoring his offered hand.

"Sure. I'll be right back," she told Lou as she followed her mother into the kitchen, leaving him alone with Lindsey.

The little girl jumped onto the sofa and turned on the TV. Lou stood awkwardly for a couple of minutes before joining her on the sofa.

"What are you watching?"

"I'm not watching, I'm playing a video game," she answered without taking her eyes off of the screen.

Lou glanced at the TV screen and saw the name of the game. "Is that car racing? I love this game!" He smiled.

"Seriously?" Lindsey turned to face him and she reminded him of her mother when she was excited, which made his smile grow wider. "Are you good?" she questioned.

"Are you kidding? I rock! I used to play this game with my son all the time."

Lindsey smiled and handed him the second remote. "I'm so gonna beat you!"

He chuckled as he took the remote. "You wish!"

Meanwhile in the kitchen Lily stood in front of Catherine with her arms folded, making Catherine quite nervous under her gaze.

"Mom, what's going on?"

"You know damn well what's going on, Catherine. It's the same Louis Vartann, isn't it?"

Catherine sighed. "Yes… but we're just friends!" she added quickly before Lily could say anything. The last thing she wanted to do was to have this conversation with her mother.

"Catherine, have you lost your mind?" Lily snapped.

"Mom, shhh!" Catherine looked nervously in the direction of the living room, hoping Lou and Lindsey didn't hear Lily. "He moved to Vegas and we're working together, and, well, one thing let to another and…" Catherine knew she had been busted and didn't see the point in lying to her mother about her relationship with Lou.

"And you ended up in bed with him!" Lily completed her sentence. "Again."

"I haven't slept with him, Mom!" Catherine whispered loudly, causing Lily to raise her eyebrow. "Not this time anyway. We're taking it slow."

"Does Lindsey know?" Lily asked.

"No, she doesn't know anything."

"Does he?" Catherine shook her head in response. "Catherine!"

"Look, Mom, I can take care of myself, okay? I don't need you to do it for me."

"You're playing a very dangerous game, Catherine."

Catherine knew it, but she didn't want what she had with Lou to end. The past two weeks had been really great and she was finally happy, which hadn't happened to her in a very long time. She didn't want Lou to find the truth about her, but she didn't want to leave him either. So, she just said, "I'll be fine."

Before Lily had the chance to reply they heard shouting coming from the living room. Both girls rushed into the living room worried only to find Lou slumped on the sofa sulking with his arms crossed just like a little kid and Lindsey jumping on the sofa beside him.

"What the hell is going on?" Catherine had to shout through her daughter's giggles and squeals.

"Mommy, I beat Lou! I won the race!" The little girl had a proud smile on her face.

Catherine frowned in confusion, but then saw the TV screen and smiled. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of her daughter and new boyfriend spending time together, but it was the first time in a while that Lindsey looked happy, so she let it go.

"I let her win." Lou sulked.

The next few minutes passed with Lindsey bragging about how she won the game and calling Lou a loser, and Lily shooting glares at Catherine, who was trying desperately to avoid them.

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><p><strong>Weeeell, what do you think? Finally got them together :D<strong>

**I already have chapter 5 written, I'll probably publish it tomorrow if I have time, or on Friday (:**

**-Zohar.**


	5. Falling for Each Other

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you like it (:**

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><p><strong>Falling for Each Other<strong>

A few weeks later Lindsey was watching TV in the living room when Catherine walked in and sat down next to her.

"Lindsey, honey? I need to talk to you about something," she said nervously.

"Hmm?" Lindsey replied, not interested in the conversation; she was too fascinated by the TV show she was currently watching.

"Linds, I really need you to look at me." When Lindsey turned her head to look at her Catherine took a deep breath and asked, "What do you think of Lou?"

Lindsey shrugged. "He's nice. He plays with me and he's funny and we have a lot in common. I like him."

Catherine was relieved when she heard her daughter's opinion of her new boyfriend; this would make what she had to say easier to say. Feeling a little bit more confident, she asked, "How would you feel if I started dating him?" When Lindsey frowned she got nervous again.

_'Fuck, I think she doesn't want me seeing him.'_

"What's wrong?" She was really hoping that Lindsey wouldn't have a problem with her dating Lou because she was finally happy, ever since they started seeing each other.

"Aren't you already dating him?" Lindsey surprised her with the question, and when Catherine's eyes widened slightly she added, "I mean, he's always around and you two are really close and stuff, so I just thought you were together." She finished her sentence with another shrug.

_'She knew about us?'_

"So, you don't have a problem with it? Because if you do, I will end it with him." She looked at her daughter nervously. Although she meant what she said, she didn't want to end it with him; she really liked him. But if Lindsey told her to, she would. Her daughter always came first.

"I don't mind, I'm happy for you," Lindsey simply said. "I thought you were already dating. Just don't kiss around me 'cause it's gross." She scrunched up her face in disgust.

Catherine chuckled and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you so much, you know that?"

"I love you, too, Mom."

Later that night Catherine knocked on Lou's door. It was their night off and Catherine's original plan was to spend some quality time with Lindsey, but at the last minute Lindsey remembered she had been invited to a sleepover at her friend's house. Catherine was a little bit disappointed that she couldn't spend time with her daughter; work had been getting in their way lately and she missed her. She also wanted to be with her daughter and help her get through the loss of her father. However, she cheered up immediately when she realized she could spend time with Lou instead. She put on a little summer dress that ended just above her knees and flat shoes and drove to Lou's.

Whatever had been bothering her for the past month was momentarily forgotten and she was excited to tell him that they had gotten her daughter's approval to be together.

Lou opened the door and looked a little worried when he saw her. It was half past midnight and he knew she was supposed to spend the night with Lindsey. The first thing that went through his mind was that something had happened to Lindsey.

"Cath? Is everything okay? Where's Lindsey?"

"She's on a sleepover." Catherine smiled as she let herself into the apartment without waiting for his invitation. Lou shut the door behind her and turned to face her. She nearly knocked him to the floor when she pressed her lips roughly to his.

When they finally pulled apart to get some air Catherine's arms were still around his neck, her face was mere inches from his, her lips were pulled into a big smile and she had a gleam in her eyes.

When she saw the confusion on Lou's face she finally said, "I talked to Linds."

Lou was intrigued now. "And?"

"And she's okay with us being together," she said as she played with the collar of his T-shirt and, if possible, her smile grew bigger.

"She is?" His smile was just as big. He and Catherine could finally be a real couple, without having to sneak around all the time.

She nodded and they shared another heated kiss. When the kiss broke her sparkling blue eyes stared deeply into his green-gray ones as she whispered, "I'm ready."

Lou knew what she meant. They had been dating for over a month now and still hadn't been intimate. Both had been wanting to, but wanted to take things slow. He wanted to make sure she really wanted it; he didn't mind waiting until she was ready. So he looked into her eyes as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Her response was to wrap her arms tighter around his neck and kiss him deeply while walking backwards toward his bedroom and pulling him with her.

Once in the bedroom, she pulled back and ever so slowly pulled her dress over her head, her eyes never leaving his. Lou couldn't help but stare at her perfect body; his eyes wandered over her long, dancer's legs, her bra clad breasts, and finally, on her face.

_'God, she's beautiful. Still so sexy.'_

She smiled as she walked over to him, grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it off of his body. Her eyes immediately settled on his muscular chest and she ran her hands up and down it, sending shivers up his spine.

_'Mmm, he looks even better than he did eight years ago.'_

She took off her shoes and climbed into his bed and under the covers. She slid herself up the bed until she was rested against the pillows and then motioned for him to join her. He quickly took off the his pants and crawled under the covers so he was lying on top of her. They shared another slow, yet passionate kiss and Lou reached behind Catherine's back and unclasped her lacy bra, pulling it down her arms and tossing it to the side. He bent down and captured her left nipple in his mouth, making her gasp and throw her head back into the pillows. He sucked on her nipple, making it harden, before tugging on it gently with his teeth and moving on to her right nipple, granting it the same attention.

Just when she was squirming and writhing beneath him he let go of her breasts. Catherine, already breathing heavily, hooked her fingers into the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down his legs, and he kicked them off. She took hold of his already hardened member and started stroking it slowly, making it harden even more under her touch.

Lou looked into her eyes and noticed they weren't blue and sparkly as usual; they were dark and filled with desire. That was exactly what Catherine saw in his eyes. He grabbed her hand and took it away from his shaft before taking hold of her panties and pulling them off of her body.

She spread her legs apart and he settled between them. Their lips connected in a long, deep kiss, in which their tongues were dancing together, before they pulled apart and looked deeply into each other's eyes as Lou slowly thrust into her, causing both of them to groan in pleasure.

Lou started moving inside of Catherine at a slow, steady pace, Catherine's hips meeting his thrust for thrust. Her fingers tightened on his waist and she pulled him closer to her, causing their sweaty bodies to grind and him to slip deeper into her depth. He bent down and kissed her kiss-swollen lips before trailing kisses across her jaw line and down her neck, causing her moans to get louder. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed him deeper within her so that he was fully buried inside of her. Their moans and groans got louder and their breaths got heavier as Lou quickened his pace, his eyes never leaving hers.

Soon, they were both racing towards release. Catherine reached hers first, her walls clenching around his member and he body trembling as she cried out his name. Lou was watching her face the whole time, mesmerized by how beautiful she was while her orgasm washed over her body. Hearing her moan his name and feeling her inner muscles clamp around him were enough to send him trembling over the edge and groan her name as he emptied his seed inside of her.

Minutes later they were laying under the covers, wrapped in each other's arms, their sweaty bodies cooling. Lou's fingers were caressing Catherine's back while Catherine played with the hairs on his chest, her head rested on his shoulder. She felt so safe and comfortable in his strong arms. It made all her problems disappear and she never wanted to move; she wanted to stay this way forever.

"So, was it better than the first time?" Lou asked after a long silence.

Catherine smiled and snuggled further into his body. "So much better," she whispered.

Lou smiled proudly, and after another long silence he whispered, "I think I'm falling for you."

Catherine's almost closed eyes shot open at his words and her worries suddenly came back. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with her. But the thing that scared her even more was the fact that she was feeling the same way. It took her a little while before she whispered, "I think I'm falling for you, too."

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><p><strong>Sooo... what did you think?<strong>

**Don't forget to review ;)**

**-Zohar.**


	6. The Truth

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! Enjoy (:**

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><p><strong>The Truth<strong>

Lou knocked on Catherine's front door just a little after 7pm. He and Catherine had been dating for almost two months and Catherine had decided it was time to face her fears and move their relationship a step forwards. So, she had invited him for dinner with her and Lindsey on their night off work.

He was greeted by a bouncy and excited Lindsey.

"Lou, guess what! I passed to the next level in my video game!" She grabbed his hand in her little one and dragged him toward the living room. "Come on, you gotta see it!"

Lou chuckled to himself and followed her willingly. This game had become "their" game and they would play it whenever Lou was there.

"Where's your mom?" he asked as Lindsey sat down on the sofa and handed him his remote.

"Upstairs, getting dressed. Don't expect her to be down here for at least half an hour."

He chuckled again and sat down next to her. "Well, in that case, I guess we could have a little game."

Fifteen minutes later Catherine came down the stairs to find her boyfriend and daughter playing her daughter's video game and yelling at the screen and at each other, completely oblivious to her presence. She cleared her throat to get their attention and the two turned their heads to look at her at the same time.

"Hey, baby." Lou smiled as he got up, walked over to her and kissed her lips softly.

"Hey." She smiled back. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Lindsey, come help me please." She looked at her daughter over Lou's shoulder and the little girls pouted.

"Why me?"

"Because I said so."

Dinner passed with Lou telling jokes and Lindsey telling about her day at school. Catherine felt like she was actually having a family dinner – something she hadn't had in a very long time – and it felt pretty good, she had to admit, but she quickly shook that thought out of her head.

When everyone had finished dinner Catherine served ice cream to the table. When Lou noticed Lindsey had also gotten a bowl of popcorn along with her ice cream he frowned.

"What's that for?" He pointed to the popcorn as he shoved a spoon filled with ice cream into his mouth.

"I eat it with my ice cream," Lindsey replied as she started tucking the popcorn into the ice cream, and when she saw the look of surprise on his face she added, "I know you probably think it's gross and weird – Mom does, too – but I like it." She shrugged.

"Are you kidding? I don't think it's gross, I love it!" Lou exclaimed. "I think ice cream without popcorn is just boring."

"That's what I always say!" The little girl beamed.

Catherine looked between the two with shock written all over her face and her heart started beating at a furious pace. Her lips were suddenly dry and no voice would come out of her throat.

"Would you like some of my popcorn, Lou?" Lindsey offered him the bowl.

"Sure." He smiled as she took it and started tucking popcorn into his own ice cream. "I thought I was the only one eating this way. Glad to know I'm not alone."

The two of them kept joking with one another, oblivious to the somewhat scared look on the strawberry-blonde's face. Her heart was beating so fast, she was sure it would jump out of her chest.

After dinner Catherine had disappeared and Lou and Lindsey started putting things away. When they were done Lindsey went into the living room to watch TV and Lou walked upstairs and to Catherine's bedroom and knocked on the door. She was sitting on the edge of her bed and crying silently. She hated herself for doing what she was doing, which was dating Lou, and she hated seeing what it was causing. She knew she had to do something before someone would get hurt, and that thing was probably break up with Lou. It wasn't fair on him; she couldn't keep seeing him and pretend nothing was wrong when something was clearly wrong. But she couldn't end it with him either. She was slowly falling in love with him and she hated that it was happening to her; it wasn't supposed to happen.

When Lou got no response from inside the room he knocked again while saying, "Cath?"

She sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes, her breath still a bit shaky from crying, before saying, "Yeah?" She tried – and failed – not to sound like she had been crying.

The door slowly opened and Lou walked in. Her face, that was clearly telling she had been crying, wasn't unnoticed by him, although he didn't know the reason as to why she had been crying. But he knew something was wrong despite the fake smile she had plastered on her face. He walked over to her and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked worried.

"Nothing, I'm fine." The fake smile remained on her face as she pulled her hands away from his wiped her eyes once again.

"You've been crying," he said softly as he gently wiped a tear away from her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm fine, really." She attempted to smile reassuringly. "Just a bit emotional, that's all. Probably that time of the month," she said, hoping he'd buy it. He didn't; he sensed something was wrong, but he didn't want to bug her about it. If she was ready to tell him she would, he thought. So he decided to change the subject.

"Lindsey asked me to stay tonight, but if you don't want me to I can go home."

Catherine was a little surprised that her daughter had asked him to stay, although Lindsey and Lou were getting on very good and Lindsey really liked him, but Catherine wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

However, she smiled softly and said, "I'd like you to stay." He smiled back and kissed her cheek softly. "Let me just get Lindsey ready for bed." He nodded and she got up and left the room.

"Is Lou staying?" Lindsey asked as Catherine helped her get into her pink pajamas.

"Yes, he is, honey." Catherine smiled softly.

"Where's he gonna sleep?"

"He's gonna sleep with me."

"So that means I can't sleep with you tonight?" The little girl looked up at her mother with big, blue eyes, just like her mother's and pouted, making Catherine chuckle slightly and kiss her cheek.

"Not tonight, baby."

She helped Lindsey into bed and tucked her in before kissing her forehead softly, whishing her good night and leaving the room. When she walked into her bedroom Lou was already in her bed in his boxers. She smiled at him and he watched her as she stripped down to her underwear and climbed into the bed, cuddling up to him. He wrapped his arms securely around her small body and she rested her head on his chest. He fell asleep almost instantly, but it took her at least an hour to fall asleep. So many thoughts were running through her head and bothering her.

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><p>Two months later Catherine and Lou were cuddling naked in Catherine's bed, their breath slowly regulating. They were enjoying the afterglow and the comfortable silence when Lou finally decided to break that silence with the three words every woman wanted to hear. Every woman but Catherine.<p>

"I love you."

Catherine's facial expression immediately changed into one that clearly showed that she didn't like what she had just heard. She tried to ignore it; just pretend it has never been said and move on, but she couldn't. She couldn't let it go this time. So, she sat up with the white, thin blanket wrapped around her body and her bare back to him.

Lou looked at her a little confused and caressed her lower back with his fingertips. "What' wrong?" When she didn't answer he said, "Look, if you're not ready to say it back, it's okay, I understand. I'll wait; I'm not trying to rush you. I just wanted you to know how I feel."

Catherine, however, was ready. She loved him very much, more than she had ever loved any other man in her life, and it scared her. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with him; _he _wasn't supposed to fall in love with her. The second those three words escaped his lips everything got even more complicated and difficult for her.

"I think you should go," she said quietly after a minute of silence.

"What?" Lou frowned. He couldn't understand why all of a sudden she was acting like this. Five minutes ago they were having mind blowing sex and now she was telling him to leave her house.

"My mom was right, I am playing a dangerous game," she mumbled. She didn't dare look at him; it would only break her heart and make what she had to do harder to do.

Lou sat up as well and tried to get a look at her face, but her head was bent down, making her golden hair hide it. "What are you talking about?" he asked confused. "And what does your mom have to do with this?"

"I should never have dated you, it was a bad idea."

"I don't get it? All because I said I love you?" He couldn't hide the hurt in his voice. "Then forget I said it."

"You don't get it!" She finally turned her head to look at him, trying to prevent the tears from filling her eyes. She didn't want him to see it got to her; she kept the big, tough woman mask she had around everyone, and she had yet to show him her soft side. "I can't do this anymore! I can't be with you!"

Lou was rather shocked by her words. He couldn't believe it was happening; he couldn't believe Catherine Willows was dumping him. This woman had taken his heart and now she was crushing it.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

Catherine couldn't answer to that, so she just looked back down. He knew the answer was yes. He quickly got out of bed and started getting dressed. When he was done he looked at Catherine, whose head was still down. He gently touched her thigh with his hand, hoping she would change her mind and ask him to stay, but she moved away, a tear rolling down her cheek and landing on the white blanket. He didn't even know what had just happened; he had no idea why she had just broken up with him. Everything was so great, or at least he thought so. He sighed and left the room, and she finally let herself break down in tears.

A few minutes later she heard the front door open and close and the unmistakable sound of her 8-year-old daughter calling, "Mom!"

she quickly wiped her eyes, got dressed and went downstairs to find her mother and daughter in the living room.

"Hey, baby. How was school?" She faked a smile as she knelt in front of Lindsey and hugged her.

"Fine. I'm hungry."

She chuckled slightly. "Okay, why don't you wait a few minutes and I'll make us lunch?" she suggested. Lindsey nodded before running upstairs and Catherine stood up.

"I saw your boyfriend leaving," Lily said. "Is everything okay?"

Catherine sighed and flopped down onto the sofa. "No."

"What's wrong?" Lily sat down next to her.

"I broke up with him."

"What? Why?" she asked surprised.

"You told me to!" Catherine turned her head to look at her with a somewhat blaming expression.

"Yeah, but that was when you just got together. The poor guy must be heartbroken now." Lily couldn't help but feel bad for Lou.

"I'm not too happy about it either, Mom." Catherine didn't even try to hide the sadness in her voice, and there was also a hint of hurt in it as the thought that he mother cared more about Lou's feelings than hers passed in her mind, but she quickly got ris of this thought, knowing that it was just her brain playing with her at her emotional and broken state.

"Then why did you do it?" Lily held her daughter's hand in an attempt to comfort her, but Catherine pulled her hand away and sighed.

"He told me he loves me. Mom, he's gonna hate me when he finds out the truth."

"You don't know that." Lily stroked her hair.

"I do." She nodded.

"There's only one way to find out." When Catherine looked at her in a way that clearly told her she knew what she meant and did not like the idea one bit she said, "Look, this is what you need to do: go to work tonight, do your job, take your mind off things, and then go to him and talk to him. I think it's time to tell him the truth; he needs to know. I know you're scared and worried and I know how hard it's going to be, but I promise you, the minute you get it off your chest you'll feel so much better."

Catherine drew in a deep, shaky breath and nodded, knowing that her mother was probably right, and just as Lily suggested, she went to work that night and tried to do her job properly, although she couldn't concentrate on anything; she was too nervous about the upcoming conversation with Lou.

When her shift was finally over she drove to Lou's place. The ride was too short. All she could think about was what she was going to tell Lou and how she was going to tell him. She was so lost in thoughts that it took her a few minutes to realize she was already parking outside his building.

When Lou opened the door he was surprised to see Catherine standing on the other side. She had broken his heart and now she came to stomp on it? He noticed the scared and nervous look on her face and before he had a chance to say something she opened her mouth.

"I do love you."

"What?" He frowned in confusion. A few hours ago she had broken up with him and now she was standing on his doorstep and telling him she loves him? What kind of sick game was she playing?

"I just want you to know that I love you and never meant to hurt you before I say what I'm about to say," she said as she let herself into his apartment.

"Catherine, what's going on?" he asked as he closed the door, and when he turned to face her he was faced with news that he had never expected to hear.

"You're Lindsey's father."

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><p><strong>MUHAHAHAHA! You already knew it though, didn't you? ;)<strong>

**I'm not gonna update tomorrow 'cause I'll be crying oceans after watching 'Ms. Willows Regrets,' but I might update on Friday if you leave me some nice reviews (:**

**-Zohar.**


	7. Birthday Present

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Had to write half of this chapter while sobbing my heart out over 'Ms. Willows Regrets' and VCR :'( I'm so depressed! My VCR heart is broken and I just wanna curl up in bed and cry myself to sleep over them, so I promise I'll fix things between them soon, and let's just hope that the writers will grow some brain and get these two back together and give us another hot sex scene like in 'Blood Moon.'  
>Okay, back to the story now.<strong>

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><p><strong>Birthday Present<strong>

_"Bullshit! You knew she was mine and still you didn't tell me!"_

_"I was scared!"_

_"I need some time alone, to think; clear my head."_

The yells from her and Lou's conversation – well, more of a fight – from a week ago were still echoing in Catherine's head, no matter how much she was trying to ignore them. For a week, it was all she could think about. She didn't know whether she was regretting telling Lou or not. On one hand she was relieved to finally get it off her chest; she wouldn't have to keep the fact that Lindsey was his daughter a secret anymore – not from him anyway. But on the other hand, telling him the truth ruined what they had with one another. He hated her.

Her head was flooded with thoughts; she wondered how come it hadn't exploded yet. She couldn't get the fight with Lou off her mind.

_"What?" Lou finally asked after a long, tense silence._

_Catherine looked into his green-gray eyes as she repeated her statement, "Lindsey is your daughter."_

_The word "shock" was an understatement regarding the look on Lou's face. He wasn't sure he had heard correctly the first time, but after she had repeated herself he was sure someone was hiding somewhere in his apartment with a camera and was about to jump out of the hiding place and tell him it was all just a joke._

_A couple of minutes had passed and there was no sign of a camera in his house, so he started thinking Catherine was actually telling the truth._

_After a long silence, which made Catherine even more nervous than she already was, all he could get out was, "What are you talking about?"_

_She sighed and sat down on his sofa, expecting him to join her, but he just remained standing. She didn't have the courage to look at his face, into his eyes, so she looked down at her hands as she started explaining, "Two months after we slept together I found out I was pregnant. Eddie, who was still my boyfriend back then, and I hadn't been intimate in at least three months; we were having some problems in our relationship. So I knew he wasn't the father. And I know what you think: an exotic dancer, wiggles her ass for a living, probably sleeps around. But I wasn't. So I knew it was you. I didn't want Eddie to break up with me, so I told him the baby was his and we got married."_

_Before she could continue Lou stopped her. "Wait, wait. You had a boyfriend? You slept with me while you were seeing someone?"_

_Her head snapped up and her face told him she was rather annoyed by what he had just said. "Don't try and be so saint, it's not like you weren't cheating on your wife when you slept with me?"_

_"Excuse me?" His eyes widened slightly._

_"Come on, you have an 11-year-old son. I'm not that stupid; I can do the Math."_

_Lou sighed in defeat before asking, "Why didn't you tell me she was mine?"_

_"I had no way to contact you. You left to L.A. after that night and I found out only two months later. I didn't even know you; I knew nothing about you!"_

_He looked at her as hurt and anger slowly built up inside his body. "We've been dating for four months – _four months _– and you didn't think you should tell me?"_

_"I did! I wanted to, but I was scared!"_

_"You just dated me and pretended everything was fine! You thought that if you broke up with me you wouldn't have to tell me?"_

_"I didn't want to date you in the first place because I didn't want you to find out. I knew that if I dated you, you would get hurt."_

_"Oh, how considerate of you," he said sarcastically. "If we didn't date, you would never tell me? You would just ignore me at work?"_

_Catherine looked down. She really didn't know what to say to that. Lou took those few minutes of silence to take some deep breaths and calm down. Saying he was shocked wouldn't even start describing the way he was feeling. Catherine, the woman he had been dating – and falling in love with – for the past four months, had just dropped a huge bomb on him; she had just told him that they had made a baby one night years ago. He felt hurt – betrayed even. How could she keep such a big secret from him?_

_"Does Lindsey know?" He finally broke the silence with the question which had been bugging him since the minute she told him._

_She shook her head. "No, and I want it to stay this way."_

_"Catherine, you can't hide it from her like you did from me!"_

_"She's 8!" Catherine snapped. "She can't handle such big news! She knew one father all her life, I can't change that, it'll hurt her and just make her confused."_

_"What kind of sick game are you playing, Catherine? Stop with the secrets! Like it's not enough that you dated me for so long without telling me!" He couldn't help but be pissed at her. Not only she hid it from him, she wouldn't even fix what she had caused._

'Where does it put me? Do I have to pretend like nothing ever happened just because she doesn't want her daughter – _my _daughter – to know? Then why did she even tell me?'

_"I didn't want to hurt you! Neither of you!" Catherine was about to cry, but stopped herself. She didn't want him to see her so vulnerable and she didn't want him to pity her._

_"Bullshit! You knew she was mine and still you didn't tell me!"_

_"I was scared! I was afraid you'd leave me!"_

_"Well, you were right about one thing." The second those words left his mouth Catherine felt as if someone stabbed her through the heart. Her heart stopped and she felt sick. The thing she didn't want to happen happened. He left her._

_Lou took a deep breath in an attempt to relax and rubbed his face, and then said in a somewhat calmer tone, "I need some time alone, to think; clear my head."_

_She nodded, stopping the tears from pouring out, and got up. Without looking at him or saying another word she walked toward the door and left the apartment, leaving Lou to deal with everything he had just heard._

"Mom!" Catherine was so lost in thoughts; she didn't hear when her daughter called her name.

She was sitting by the kitchen table, staring deep into empty space and biting her nails, unbeknownst to her actions. She couldn't stop thinking about the fight with Lou. She had lost the one man she truly loved and it was all her fault; she had to be so stupid.

"Moom!" Lindsey called again, tugging on her blouse. Catherine finally snapped out of it and looked down at her daughter.

"What?" Lindsey looked at her with a weird expression on her face, obviously confused about her mother's behavior. Catherine looked around her and remembered where she was: music was coming from the living room, balloons were hung all over the house and in front of her on the kitchen table was a decorated chocolate cake, which she had been sticking candles in before she got lost in thoughts about Lou and their argument for the hundredth time that week. It was Lindsey's ninth birthday and Catherine was hosting a party at their home with Lindsey's friends, family and her own team members from work.

It had been a week since the argument with Lou and they hadn't talked ever since. He hadn't called her and she didn't want to bug him; she wanted to give him time and space to let the information she had dropped on him sink in. But it drove her crazy. She missed him and she hated herself for hiding such a big secret from him. He was constantly on her mind and she kept replaying the past four months over and over in her head. She kept thinking what she could have done differently, but it was just giving her a headache; the whole situation was so complicated.

However, she didn't want to ruin her daughter's birthday; it was the first one since Eddie had died – the first one without her father – and Catherine wanted to make it special for Lindsey; she wanted her to be happy and not think about her dad not being there.

"Mom, what are you doing here alone?" Lindsey questioned.

"Just finishing with your cake, sweetie. Go back to the party, I'll be right there," she replied.

"Is Lou coming?" Lindsey surprised her with the question. She didn't know what was going on between them; Catherine herself didn't exactly know what was going on between them.

"What?"

"He promised me he'd come. We even talked about what he would get me." Lindsey looked a little disappointed when she saw the look on her mother's face, which told her he wasn't coming.

Catherine couldn't see her daughter upset, especially not on her birthday, so as hard as it was for her she said, "I'll try to call him, but I'm not promising anything, he might be busy."

The little girl nodded and ran out of the kitchen and back to the party. Catherine picked up her phone and hesitated for a moment – she wasn't sure she had the courage to talk to Lou just yet – before she dialed his number.

"Vartann," Came Lou's voice from the other end of the phone and she felt her heartbeats pick up pace as she heard the familiar sound. She missed him so much; a week without him was harder than she thought it would be.

"Hey, it's me," she said softly.

He recognized her sweet voice immediately. He missed her, too, but he couldn't forgive her so quickly. She hid the fact that they had a daughter together and instead of telling him, she dated him, making him look like a complete fool. He did love the time they spent together; the past four months had been amazing, but he was so upset with her for not telling him the truth; for lying to his face. He couldn't even bring himself to see Lindsey since she had told him. The fact that he was her father – she was his daughter – still hasn't registered in his head.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Catherine continued. "Um, it's Lindsey's birthday and she wants you to come. She says you promised you would."

He sighed and rubbed his face. When he promised that to Lindsey he didn't know the truth yet. Now he couldn't just show up at her birthday party and pretend he didn't know anything; pretend to be just her mother's boyfriend. It would be too difficult. But he knew he couldn't let her down – no matter what she was to him: his daughter or his girlfriend's daughter. She didn't know anything and none of this was her fault.

When he didn't say anything Catherine said, "Look, you don't have to come, I understand. I'll just tell her you're busy or something-"

"I'll come," he cut her off. "She's my daughter; I need to be with her on her birthday." Just then he realized that was the first time he actually said it out loud. She was his daughter.

"You don't have to-"

"I'm no my way," he cut her off again and hung up. Catherine sighed.

_'He hates me.'_

Twenty minutes later Lou knocked on her front door. She walked to the door, opened it and their eyes met for the first time in a week. They stood frozen and stared at each other in silence, unable to find the words they both wanted to say, until they heard a squeal.

"Lou!" Lindsey called excitedly as she ran over to him and flew her arms around his hips, almost knocking him to the ground.

He looked down at the little girl clinging to his legs with shock written on his face. It was the first time he saw her since Catherine had told him she was his daughter and having her hugging him felt… weird. He knew coming to her birthday party and being around her and Catherine would be hard, but he hadn't realized just how hard until that moment, when her arms were wrapped tightly around his hips.

With all the thoughts running through his head at that moment he couldn't ignore one which told him that if Lindsey loved him so much – and while thinking he was only her mother's boyfriend – maybe they should tell her the truth, maybe she would react in a good way. He glanced up at Catherine, but when he saw she had the same expression he had on his face he knew she didn't want her daughter to know the truth and he knew he had to respect that. After all, she was her mother and she's been raising her since she was a baby. She knew her daughter best and knew what was good for her and what wasn't.

When Lindsey finally un-wrapped her arms from around his hips she looked up at the two adults. "Come on, guys, we're opening presents!"

Before they had a chance to reply she was already running back to the living room. They exchanged quick looks before following her silently.

They were sitting on the sofa and watching quietly as Lindsey sat on the floor with her friends and the guys from the lab, everyone giving her presents. Some of her friends gave her dolls, candy and cheap jewelry; Sara gave her a white, fancy dress, which Catherine made a mental note to let her wear only on special occasions, knowing how messy her daughter could be; and Grissom gave her the usual Forensics board game he would always get her for her birthdays, which he ended up playing with Nick.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time except for Catherine and Lou, who were watching Lindsey and thinking about the same thing.

Lou couldn't take this anymore. He couldn't stand sitting helpless and pretending he wasn't Lindsey's father. Catherine couldn't just drop this huge bomb on him and then expect him to do nothing about it. He wanted Lindsey to know the truth, maybe because he was sick of the secrecy and maybe because he just wanted to know how she would feel about it.

With that in mind he leant closer to Catherine and whispered, "Can we talk in private, please?"

Catherine shuddered slightly when she felt his breath hitting her neck. She nodded before getting up and walking toward the kitchen with him following behind.

"What's up?" she asked once they were in the kitchen and away from all the people and noise. She knew she would have to have this conversation with him sooner or later, she just wished it would be later.

"I want to tell Lindsey," Lou said.

"No!" she snapped. "We already talked about it; I don't want her to know."

"Catherine, I'm her father, she needs to know."

"Look, this is her first birthday since Eddie had died. I want her to be happy and not feel that her father isn't here. You are not going to ruin this birthday for her," she stated.

"But her father _is _here!" he interrupted her mid-sentence. "I'm her father, Eddie wasn't her father!"

"Don't you dare say he wasn't her father!" she whispered loud enough for him to hear, but so no one else could and pointed a threatening finger at him, her facial expression turning angrier than it already was. "He raised her, he was always there for her; not you. So don't you dare say he wasn't her father."

"You're saying it like it's my fault! How was I supposed to raise her and be with her if you never told me about her?"

"I had no way to tell you!"

"You had four months!" he interrupted her. "Four freakin' months! You dated me and you didn't think you should tell me?"

"I did tell you!"

"Yeah, after you broke up with me! Admit it, you broke up with me not because you didn't want to hurt me, but because you just didn't want to go through telling me."

Catherine looked down. She didn't know exactly what to say to that because that thought did pass in her mind a few times. He took her silence as a confirmation and sighed. He really was not in the mood for another argue.

"Forget about it," he said in a bit calmer tone, but with slight anger in it. "I'm going to tell Lindsey." He turned to leave the kitchen, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him, making him turn back to face her.

"No, you're not!" she said in a stern voice. "Lindsey can't know you're her father. She thinks Eddie was her father and I want it to stay this way."

Just then they heard a sniffing sound coming from the doorway to the kitchen. Both turned their heads to see Lindsey standing there, her lower lip trembling slightly and her big, blue eyes getting watery as she stared up at them in shock.

They were busted.

Catherine knew she had fucked up. Her daughter found out the one thing she didn't want her to and she had managed to destroy her birthday. She sighed in both defeat and sorrow.

"Linds…"

"I hate you both!" the girl shouted as she turned on her heels and ran out of the kitchen, tears streaming down her face.

"Lindsey!" Catherine called after her, trying to run after her and stop her, but Lou grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Leave her alone to calm down."

Meanwhile, Lindsey was running as far away from home as she could, determined to leave and never come back so she could hurt the people who apparently called themselves her "parents" just as bad as they had hurt her.

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><p><strong>TUMDADADAM! lol sorry for ending it there. It shouldn't take me so long to update.<strong>

**Please R&R.**

**-Zohar.**


	8. Fixing Relationships

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks for waiting patiently, I've been kinda busy lately, but here's chapter 8. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Fixing Relationships<strong>

Catherine and Lou spent what seemed to be hours, but in fact was only a few minutes, in the kitchen, worrying about Lindsey and what they were going to do, until Catherine started blaming Lou for what had happened. In the back of her mind she knew it was mostly her own fault, but she was angry, frustrated and upset and she just needed someone to blame; someone to take all her frustration out on. And that someone was Lou. Eventually she told him to go home after assuring him she'd keep him updated about Lindsey.

After telling Lily she had to go without explaining too much she left the house in a hurry. As she was driving around Vegas, looking for Lindsey, she couldn't help but worry about her daughter. She knew Lindsey needed some time alone to calm down and let the big news sink in, and she was going to give her all the time she needed, but she knew from experience how dangerous Las Vegas was, and she didn't like the idea of her 9-year-old daughter wandering the streets by herself one bit.

She hated herself for ruining Lindsey's birthday – the one she had worked so hard to make it good for her – and she was saddened that she had to find the truth the way she did. She never wanted her to know the truth, especially not this way.

Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of her ringing cell phone. She picked it up and answered "Willows" while scanning the sidewalks for her daughter.

"Hey, Cath." She heard Greg's voice on the other end of the phone.

"What is it, Greg?" It wasn't the time to hear about DNA results or whatever it was that Greg was calling for. She was searching for Lindsey and was too busy worrying about her and everything.

"Is everything okay with Lindsey?" Greg asked.

"What? Why?" she asked instantly. Now he had her full attention.

"She's here, at the lab. She looks pretty upset; she won't talk to anyone."

"Keep her there, Greg. Don't let her go anywhere," she ordered. "I'm on my way." She hung up, not giving her colleague time to say another word, and sped toward the crime lab, not caring about the speed limit. Lindsey was her first priority and she just wanted to see her and check she was okay.

However, it took her about twenty minutes to arrive at the lab, seeing as she was on the other side of Vegas when Greg called. She pulled up at the parking lot, but before getting out of the car she called Lou. She told him she had found Lindsey, but asked him not to come; she needed to be alone with her. Besides, she knew Lou was probably the last person Lindsey wanted to see. _She _was probably the last person Lindsey wanted to see. Lou understood and agreed not to come as long as she kept him updated.

When she walked into the lab she was welcome by Greg.

"Greg," she called. "Where is she?"

"She's in the break room, sleeping," the DNA technician replied while walking her to the break room. "She wouldn't talk to anyone, so I let her play in the DNA lab for a bit until she fell asleep."

"Thanks, Greg," she said quickly, not really paying attention to what he was saying. "I owe you one." She patted his chest before walking into the break room. She slowed down her pace when she saw Lindsey lying on the sofa, asleep, covered with a blanket. She quietly sat down on the edge of the sofa, careful not the wake the slumbering child, and gently brushed a strand of golden hair off of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She looked so peaceful, as though nothing had happened.

She was a bit relieved to see that Lindsey couldn't handle the big city on her own after all and eventually came to the only safe place she knew; the place where she knew she could find her mother.

She waited until the graveyard shift started without waking Lindsey. She told herself she just wanted her daughter to get some rest after the day she had had, but the main reason was she just wasn't ready to talk to her about everything just yet. She still didn't know what to do and what to tell her, so she decided to turn to the wisest person she knew; the only person she knew could help her.

"Gil?"

The CSI supervisor looked up from his desk as he heard the quiet knock on the door followed by the quiet voice of his colleague and friend.

"Hey, I heard Lindsey's here. Is everything okay?"

Catherine sighed as she shut the office door and walked over to his desk, slumping down in the chair across from him. "No."

"What's wrong?"

_'Ugh, I'm gonna have to tell him everything. That's gonna be tough. I should probably prepare myself to a lot of criticism.'_

"You know Lou… Detective Vartann, right?" He nodded.

"I've been dating him for the past four months." She paused for a second and studied his face nervously, waiting to see his reaction. Surprised that he didn't say anything and his facial expression stayed the same as if she hadn't said anything, she said, "I know what you think, but it's not against procedure; we're from different departments, so we can see each other."

"I didn't say anything," he replied calmly.

"Right." She nodded and continued, "Well, I have been dating him for four months now, but four months ago, when he'd first joined LVPD, wasn't the first time I met him." This time Grissom's expression did change: he furrowed his eyebrows in a questioning way. "We met nine years ago, when I was still dancing."

"You danced for him?" He raised another eyebrow, making her look down in embarrassment.

"And… sort of… slept with him," she mumbled quietly. When she finally looked up at him, she met his surprised gaze. She drew in a deep breath and continued, louder this time, "Anyway, two months later I found out I was pregnant."

"He's Lindsey's father?"

She couldn't understand how he could be so calm. Wasn't he listening to what she was telling him? She had just told him that the man who everybody had always thought was her daughter's father wasn't and his colleague was. He didn't even look surprised.

She just nodded in response.

"Does he know?" Grissom asked.

She nodded again. "I told him a week ago."

"How did he react?"

"He was shocked. And upset with me for hiding it from him."

"Does Lindsey know?" It almost sounded as if he was questioning a suspect and not having a heart to heart conversation with a close friend and it was driving Catherine crazy.

She closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again. "Yeah. She over heard us talking about it earlier. She hates me, Gil." Her voice broke as she said those words and she almost started crying in front of him.

Her daughter hated her.

"She doesn't hate you," Grissom replied calmly.

"Yes, she does." She nodded. "And I don't blame her. Right now I hate me, too."

"Cath, she's just a little girl. She's confused. She knew one father all her life and now she finds out she'd been lied to and her real father is someone she barely knows. It's only natural for her to be shocked and confused; angry even. It's a lot to handle."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Just give her time. Be with her, show her she can trust you. She's just a little girl, she can't stay mad at you for long, she needs you." He paused for a minute before saying, "Take the night off, be with her. She needs you right now."

After talking to him some more for a bit and getting some advice Catherine took a sleeping Lindsey home, which was already empty of all the guests who had come to the party. Halfway through the ride there Lindsey had woken up. Catherine had tried talking to her, but she wouldn't respond and it broke Catherine's heart.

A few hours later Lou knocked on Catherine's front door. Catherine had told him to back off for a while, but he couldn't just sit at home and do nothing. He had to see Lindsey and talk to her.

"Hey," Catherine said softly as she opened the door. Even though she had told him to stay away from her and Lindsey for a bit, she didn't seem bothered with the fact that he was standing on her doorstep; on the contrary, she seemed rather glad. She regretted the way she had acted towards him. She was the only one to blame in this whole mess and he didn't deserve to be treated the way she had treated him.

"Hey," he said. "How's Lindsey?"

Catherine sighed. "She wouldn't talk to me. I sat her in front of the TV and left her alone; that's the least I could do." The devastated and sad look on her face wasn't unnoticed by Lou and it broke his heart to see her like this. He knew how important Lindsey was to her – she was her whole world – and now Lindsey wouldn't even talk to her.

"Can I talk to her?" he suggested.

"You can try." She opened the door wide enough for him to step into the house and gestured with her hand toward the living room.

"I just need to take something first."

A few minutes later he walked into the living room with two bowls of ice cream with popcorn and put them on the coffee table before sitting down on the sofa next to Lindsey, making the blonde girl look at him with big eyes. He sat there in silence with his head down for a few minutes before he started talking, still not looking at the girl, who was apparently his daughter.

"I have an 11-year-old son. We used to do everything together: go fishing, watch football," He glanced at "their" video game box on the coffee table. "Play video games together." Lindsey also glanced at the box, then looked down.

"A few months ago my wife and I got divorced," he continued. "And she got full custody on him. Do you know what it means?" He finally turned his head to look at her. She looked up at him and shook her head. "It means I couldn't see him anymore, at all. That's why I moved here; I couldn't stand being in the same city as my son without being able to see him." They both looked back down.

"You know what was the first thing I thought when your mom told me I'm your father?" She shook her head without looking at him. "Before I was shocked or confused, or mad at her for hiding it from me, the first thought that went through my head was, 'Wow! This amazing, great kid is mine?'"

Lindsey looked up at him again, this time tears filling her eyes. He knew he had gotten to her, so he continued, "I know you probably hate me right now and want nothing to do with me, and I understand. But I'm not going to lose another child. I want to try and be your dad; I want to make this work. And I understand if you won't let me right away. I'll wait. Just, please, don't be mad at your mom. She didn't want to hurt you; she was just trying to protect you."

"She lied to me," Lindsey finally squeaked out, looking down at her hands.

"Yeah, but that's only because she didn't want you to get hurt. I know it's hard for you right now and it's probably going to take you some time, but please try to forgive her. She loves you very, very much, more than anything in the world."

She couldn't stop the tear that escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"I could never replace Eddie – he was your dad," Lou said. "But I really want to be part of your life. Now that I know you're my daughter, I want to try and be your father."

He meant every word. Sure, he was still shocked and confused and it was going to take him some time as well, but he loved Lindsey and he wasn't planning on going anywhere again.

When he didn't get any response from her he sighed and got up. "I'll leave you alone to think."

He was about to start walking out of the room when her quiet, yet stern voice stopped him. "I'm not going to call you Dad."

He turned around and saw that her head was still down. "I understand." He nodded. He stood there for a few more seconds, looking at her, and when she didn't say anything else he turned around and started walking toward the door, but her voice stopped him again.

"Lou?"

He turned back to face her and this time her blue eyes were staring up at him.

"Would you like to eat the ice cream with me?" she asked shyly. He smiled softly and walked over to the sofa, picking to bowls up from the coffee table on the way, and sat back down, handing her one. They sat there in silence and ate, both their heads flooded with thoughts.

Later that night Catherine was sitting on her bed with a photo album open in front of her. She flicked through the pages, coming across family pictures of her, Lindsey and Eddie: pictures of her pregnant with Lindsey; pictures of Lindsey as a baby; pictures of her and Eddie together and each one with Lindsey. Her hand ceased to flick through the pages when she came across a picture of the three of them together in the park. She saw the look on Lindsey's face as she looked up at Eddie with admiration and love in her eyes. She was stroking the picture softly with her finger just as she heard the door of her bedroom open.

She looked in the direction of the door and saw her daughter standing there, wearing her pink pajamas. She smiled softly as the little blonde made her way to the big bed and climbed on it. She snuggled into Catherine's side and Catherine smiled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer and stroking her hair. Grissom was right – as always – Lindsey couldn't stay mad at her for long, and no matter how much she tried to hide it, she loved her mom. They just needed to take things slow.

They spent the night looking at the pictures in silence until they both fell asleep cuddled together.

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><p>Two days later a knocking came on Catherine's front door. She opened the door to find Lou standing on the other side.<p>

"Hey," she said surprised. "Lindsey's at school."

"I know, I came to you," he said.

"Oh. Come on it then." She stepped aside and he walked into the house. She shut the door behind him and led him into the living room. Once they had both sat on the sofa, silence fell over the room.

"How's Lindsey?" Lou finally started a conversation.

"She'll be okay. We're taking things slow. She's still a bit overwhelmed and not talking about it, but I think we'll be okay," Catherine answered with a soft smile.

He nodded. "Good, I'm glad."

There was another awkward silence before Catherine finally spoke up. "Look, Lou, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did-"

"Yes, you should have," she cut him off. "And I understand. I don't blame you, I shouldn't have kept such a big secret from you and I'm truly sorry. I was scared."

"Cath, I understand," he said softly as he took her hand in his. "I had some time to think about everything and I understand now why you did it. You were put in an awful position. I can imagine how hard it must've been for you. Besides, I do want to be part of Lindsey's life, if you'll let me."

She smiled softly and nodded. "I'd love that."

"I'd also like to be part of your life," he added, looking directly into her eyes.

She couldn't help but be a little shocked. She was sure that after everything that had happened he wouldn't want to keep seeing her. "You would?"

He nodded. "One night, nine years ago, I was dragged to a strip club against my will. Not in my wildest dreams had I ever planned on falling in love that night, but I did." Catherine felt her heart melt as he said those words. "And I'm not planning on letting you go like I did all those years ago. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

_'Okay, now my heart exploded.'_

She smiled softly. "I want that, too."

He smiled and gently placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her head closer to his until their lips connected in a passionate kiss. They stayed that way for a few minutes – arms wrapped around each other, lips softly caressing and tongues dancing. They knew it wasn't over; they still had a lot to talk about and a relationship with _their _daughter and each other to fix, but right now was all about them and what they wanted and needed, and they weren't intending to let each other go again.

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><p><strong>There you go. If they don't give me a happy ending for VCR on the show, at least I'm giving you one here. Next chapter is the last one, by the way.<strong>

**Tell me what you thought please!**

**-Zohar.**


	9. Better

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long, been pretty busy with school and stuff. Anyway, here's the last chapter, but don't worry, I'm gonna write a sequel :D  
>Major SMUT in this chapter!<strong>

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><p><strong>Better<strong>

Lou was sitting on the edge of Catherine's bed in the darkened room, his eyes closed and a slight grin on his face.

It had been a few months since the revelation of Catherine's secret and things were getting better between everyone; Catherine and Lou had talked about everything multiple times and had decided to give their relationship a chance, and so had Lindsey; even though she wouldn't call Lou "Dad," she had decided to give him a chance. The three of them would have family dinners, go to the movies or the zoo, or just spend nice evenings at home, as a family.

For the first time since their divorces, Catherine and Lou finally felt like they had a family and it was the best feeling in the world.

It took a few minutes before the door of Catherine's en suite opened and Lou heard her sweet voice say, "You can open them now."

His eyes fluttered open. His mouth dropped open with a gasp escaping it and his eyes about jumped out of their holes as he took in the sight in front of him: Catherine was standing in the doorway with a sexy, tiny outfit that barely covered her body, striking a sexy pose. His eyes wandered her body; she was wearing red, high heel shoes; her long, shiny legs were on show; the little red outfit barely covered her ass; her boobs were pushed up, which made them look bigger than usual, and the outfit was hugging every curve of her perfect body; it was so tight, it looked as if it was another layer of skin. Eventually his eyes settled on her face and he saw the grin spread across it.

The former dancer slowly made her way over to the stereo in the corner of the room, her heels clicking on the floor. She sensed Lou's eyes watching her every movement, so she turned her head in his direction, flicking her hair aside, and flashed him a seductive smile as she turned on the stereo and the sounds of a seductive music filled the room. Slowly she made her way toward him and straddled his thighs, the seductive smile never leaving her lips.

"C… Cath, what… what's going on?" he stuttered, placing his hands on her hips as she settled in his lap.

"I was thinking," She bent forward and whispered into his ear in the sexiest voice he had ever heard. "I still owe you a lap dance."

He gulped as she nibbled at his earlobe and his libido immediately kicked into overdrive at her words. "S… seriously?"

"Mhmm…" She nodded with a sexy smile as she pulled back slightly to look at his face. "Unless you're gonna push me away again."

He grabbed her hips tighter and pulled her against his very turned on body, his eyes fixated on her pushed up breasts. "Mmm… no way."

She giggled softly before grounding herself against his semi-erect penis and started grinding, eliciting a throaty groan from him. She slowly started moving her hips in time with the music, making sure to grind her breasts against his face occasionally.

Lou watched her wide eyed and open mouthed, and when she got off of his lap and turned her back to him, he licked his suddenly dry lips, his eyes glued to her supple ass. She swayed her hips for a little bit before slowly stripping off of her tiny outfit and dropping it to the floor. Remaining in only her matching red bra and thong set and the red heels, she turned back to face him and slowly sauntered back over to him, straddling him once again. She could feel his growing erection pressing against her thigh and, with a seductive smile and a gleam in her eyes, she started swaying her hips again.

She slowly reached behind her back and unhooked her red, lacy bra, letting it fall between her and Lou's bodies, her breasts bouncing slightly as she released them from their confines. She grabbed the bra and tossed it somewhere in the dark room as Lou stared at her breasts, completely mesmerized. He brought his hands up to touch them, but she grabbed his wrists and pinned his hands to the mattress.

"Uh-uh." She shook her head with a smile. "No touching the dancers."

Lou groaned in protest and she released his hands, making sure he kept them in place, before starting to dance again in time with the music and grinding her hips against his. When she felt hid bulge pressing against her thigh, a grin slowly spread across her face and she leaned in to whisper huskily in his ear, "I think something wants to come out." He groaned in response and licked his lips, unable to find his voice.

She took his earlobe between her teeth and bit it gently, her supple breasts pressing against his chest, before pulling back to look at his face. With a smile on her lips, she reached between them, unbuckled his belt, and ever so slowly pulled it out of his trousers, his cock twitching with excitement. She then undid his trousers, relieving some of the tension, put her hand inside, and started stroking his member through the fabric of his boxers, eliciting throaty sounds from him.

"Oh God, Cath…"

She took that as a sign to go farther and hooked her fingers into the waistbands of his trousers and boxers, pulling them down his legs. Once they were off, she knelt in front of him and kissed her way up his legs. His cock grew harder as she kissed his inner thigh before taking him into her wet, warm mouth.

"Oh, God!" Lou tried not to buck against her face as she sucked the head gently, sending waves of arousal all over his body.

She swirled her tongue around the tip, teasing him and tasting his pre-come, before taking all of him into her warm mouth. He groaned loudly when her left hand started massaging his balls while the other worked the base of his shaft. His fingers clutched the sheets on the bed, trying desperately not to touch her and make her stop as she bobbed her head up and down his member. He was already so close – her dance had wound him up to no end – and he could feel the pleasure building up inside his body. And then she stopped. He groaned in displeasure as her mouth left his throbbing cock.

"Cath… please…" he begged for release.

She only smiled mischievously before climbing back onto his lap and taking his rock-hard cock in her hand once again. She pumped it with her hand while kissing, nibbling, and licking his neck until she reached his pulse point and sucked on it, leaving a mark. By now his breath was only quick, short gasps and he was groaning against her ear, which sent shivers of arousal all over her body, eventually settling between her legs.

She slowly eased him down onto the bed to a lying position, and then stood up, took off her thong, and threw it at him. He stared at the lacy, red undergarment, completely mesmerized, until she straddled him again. He let go of the thong as she took hold of his hard on once again and positioned it at her entrance before rising up and sinking down onto him. Her back arched and both of them let out loud groans of pleasure as they became one.

Catherine placed her hands on Lou's chest and rode him slowly - rising up completely until only the tip was inside her, and then lowering herself completely onto his length until he was buried deep within her - occasionally rotating her hips.

Lou watched with lust-filled eyes as the goddess above him rode him at a steady rhythm, her back arched and her face flushed with desire; her eyes were shut, her cheeks red with arousal, and her lips parted slightly, soft, quiet moans escaping them. When she finally opened her eyes and met his, she saw his eyes dark with arousal and took hold of his right hand, guiding it up to her right breast. He massaged it softly, pinching the erect bud occasionally, and causing her to throw her head back and her eyes to close again as her moans got louder.

"God, baby, you're so hot," Lou breathed out.

The room filled with the sounds of the seductive music in the background and their moans and groans of pleasure. The slow pace was driving Lou crazy, so he grabbed Catherine's hips tightly and started thrusting up into her, causing her breasts to bounce and her moans to increase in volume.

It was enough to turn him on even more and he flipped them so she was underneath him, and started pounding into her at a frantic pace, causing her to gasp loudly. The only sounds in the room were now their loud moans and pants and the sound of the bed squeaking and banging against the wall; the music could barely be heard over the noise they were making.

Then Lou did something Catherine was least expecting: he pulled all the way out of her, but before she had time to react, he slammed back into her warm depth, making her scream in pleasure.

Her heels were sinking into the sheets, nearly tearing them, and she was digging her manicured nails into Lou's ass and scraping them up it, leaving deep, red marks and making him groan loudly and quicken his pace. Desperate to feel some skin, she ripped his shirt off, making buttons fly everywhere. She pulled him closer and held tightly onto his head as he buried his face in her neck and kissed it.

She was already so close when suddenly he pulled out again. She groaned in displeasure and pushed on his ass with her hands to get him to enter her again, but he grabbed her wrists, pinned her hands above her head, and slammed back inside of her. He pounded into her, his cock getting wetter with every thrust, and she practically screamed his name as he hit her G-spot.

"Ohhhhhhh! Right there! Don't stop!"

He reached between them, his left hand still holding her hands in place, and started rubbing her clit with his right hand. It didn't take long before she squeezed her eyes shut, her body arched completely off of the bed, and she cried out his name as a mind-blowing orgasm ripped through her body, leaving it trembling violently.

Her facial expressions, the screams of pleasure coming out of her mouth, the sound of his name in a loud, long moan, and the milky actions of her inner muscles, which showered his cock, made Lou release Catherine's hands from his tight grasp, grip tightly onto her hips, and pound into her a couple more times before shooting his own hot liquid inside of her with a grunt.

Minutes later they were curled up together under the covers as their bodies cooled, the music still playing in the background. Catherine's head was rested on Lou's shoulder and her leg draped over his body, and one of his hands was stroking the back of her thigh while the other was drawing lazy circles on her back.

Both lay in silence, enjoying the afterglow, knowing that no words were needed. They were finally happy and relaxed for a change; things were going on the right track and they knew that giving their little family a chance was a good choice, which they would never regret.

It didn't take long for both of them to fall into an exhausted, content sleep, wrapped up protectively in each other's arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A Year Later<strong>_

"Mom! Look what I got!" Lindsey called as she ran over to Catherine and thrust a colorful necklace underneath her face.

"Wow, who got you this?" Catherine smiled and took the necklace in her hand.

"Nicky." Lindsey smiled.

"Did you say thank you?" Catherine knelt to her daughter's height and received a shake of the blonde's head. "Go say thank you then." She kissed Lindsey's nose before the child ran off.

She chuckled slightly to herself as she stood up and looked around with a satisfied smile on her face. Her garden was decorated with balloons and "Happy Birthday" signs. Family and friends had come to celebrate her daughter's tenth birthday, and everyone was having a good time, especially Lindsey, who was twirling around in her new dress. A soft smile formed on her lips as she watched her daughter dancing and having fun.

_'She looks so happy.'_

Her thoughts were cut off when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist. She tensed for a second, but relaxed immediately when she recognized the familiar arms and smiled.

"I thought you'd never show up," she said as she turned in Lou's embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It's my daughter's birthday; I wouldn't miss it for the world," he replied and kissed her lips softly.

"You were gone when I woke up this morning," she murmured against his lips before pulling back slightly to look at his face.

"I know, I had to go to work, but I have tonight off to take care of the three of you." Catherine smiled as he placed a hand on her still flat stomach. "How's little one? Behaving?"

"So far so good," she answered.

"When are we gonna tell everyone?" he asked.

"Not today. It's Lindsey's birthday, today is about her."

"But she's thrilled about the baby, she wouldn't have a problem."

"I don't want to withdraw all the attention from her. We'll tell them another time."

"Mom! Dad!" The sound of their daughter calling them interrupted their conversation and they pulled apart. Lou scooped the birthday girl into his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Happy birthday, princess. I got you tons of presents."

"Awesome!" Lindsey's face lit up.

"Do you want to go blow the candles on your cake, sweetie?" Catherine suggested, placing a hand on Lindsey's back, and she nodded eagerly.

Lou chuckled. "Let's go then." He wrapped his free arm around Catherine's shoulders and the three of them made their way over to the rest of the guests.

For Catherine and Lou it was more than just their daughter's birthday; it was a reminder of the amazing, unforgettable night they had spent years ago. The night that changed their lives forever.

* * *

><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

**It might take me a while to publish the sequel 'cause I'm gonna be pretty busy, but I promise I'll do my best. Plus, I'm gonna update Danger and publish some new fics soon, so make sure to check them out ;)**

**And pleeease leave me a review :D**

**Thanks for reading.**

**-Zohar.**


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